While you were sleeping
by Merridaine
Summary: Those missing never come back those who search find nothing. What makes two rival detectives think they can solve the case of the century? More importantly which one is going to solve it first. SasuSaku AU
1. Prologue

Prologue

_The cinema was almost empty, it could only seat around thirty persons. The screen at the front of the dark room was small and made of thick paper. The rows of maroon seats were arranged in crooked lines and the chairs themselves were a mass of rotting and peeling material. Dust rose and fell across the line of light emitted from the projector that spluttered and whirred groggily playing the old film reel that was crammed inside. Its steady clicking told a story misunderstood by all- save he who created it._

_Two girls stood laughing- each were dressed for summer; a season long since unseen. They wore shorts and camisoles, both had long dark hair. One twirled forward and lent toward the camera smiling radiantly, it rewound and played again this time at an accelerated rate. A set of images flashed up then the video of the girls started again. The sequence continued always showing the same pictures and the same film. The figure at the back of the cinema did not have to strain his eyes to make out what the images were before they flashed out of his vision. He knew what they were. He had watched this film so many times, it was always in his mind, it followed him wherever he went. _

_Cat scan of brain, X-ray of spine, the annotated blue prints of his home, a series of irises, his human anatomy diagrams, straining muscles, organs in ice boxes ready for transplants and scattered bodies on a bloody floor. They played over and over again burning their significance into his brain. Forcing him to recall every painful moment of his life. He had to remember it, he had to remember why he was going to do the things that he will soon be doing, he had to remember his motives- his reasons. Nothing should be able to question his motives, his vendetta should be perfect. No it had to be perfect._

_He was shaken from his thoughts as the film reel came to an end, rattling noisily in otherwise silent theatre, the film slowed and the last scene played. The girl span forward leaned towards the camera and smiled radiantly. The film was extended by a mere few seconds, enough time for the viewer to see a glint in the background and the girl lurch forward, surprise and hurt in her beautiful dark eyes. _

_The film strip began to tear and stretch. The screen showed a mass of white holes over the last frame of the falling girl, the figure stirred in the back of the theatre and furiously raced forward, ripping the screen from the wall. He stood panting for a moment then his anger returned, he began to kick over the chairs and screamed his wrath to the invisible yet ever omniscient audience. _

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**_People Im back... well for a while... Anywho this is the prologue to my new story I am sorry if I havnt updated Porcelain but my ideas are running a little dry... If you can take a look at She and Her cat my new oneshot... I think its my best work yet so yeah... Anyway please ReadandReview... welcome to the conspiracy..._**


	2. Chapter 1 HS

"Three months, five days and four hours to the second since I've had a case" groaned the exasperated Haruno Sakura. She sat in her office staring at the round, white clock on the wall above the window. Papers were scattered across the room, nothing was organised at all- Just the way she liked it. Sakura liked to think of herself as a detective who could solve cases on her intuition and gut feeling alone. Maybe that was why she hadn't had many cases recently… Sakura confided herself by glancing at the diplomas on her wall and the medals she'd won. She was the best private detective there was this side of town. She couldn't say as much for the other side.

"Cuso! Damn that Uchiha!" She wailed, punching her desk. Next door her secretary winced; Sakura had been having many of these outbursts recently, it had cost much of the little she earned to replace what Sakura damaged in her rage. It hadn't always been like this, Sakura was once inundated with case requests. Suspicious house wives, jealous boyfriends, recovering lost family members, tracking down childhood sweet hearts and even looking for escaped pets. She'd done some pretty huge cases, investigating huge scandals within dominant and tyrannical companies and politics. She however had preferred to handle the personal cases. Sakura liked to see the smiles on her clients' faces when she told them the good news.

Sadly, since the revolution none of her clients left smiling. Missing person cases were everywhere, she couldn't help any of them. Her heart was tearing apart; these people had come to her; hoping and praying for the best so they had come to the best. These families, their loved ones had disappeared without a trace. She had looked for anything, anything. But it was no good those who went missing stayed missing.

She blamed the new government, what were they playing at? In her opinion if they couldn't look after the country they shouldn't have taken the country. Only five years ago this had been a prospering and successful country. The other countries envied how good life was here. Ironically it was the only country still ruled by a Monarchy; the rest had moved away from royalty and were led by parliaments and senates. The Monarchy had been the prestigious Hyuga family- famed for their kind judgement, strict family values and their looks. Each Hyuga was very beautiful; they had iridescent pale skin, thick dark hair and pale lavender eyes. Their pearly orbs were a subject of much gossip during their reign though they kept the true implications of their eye genetics a secret to the country.

Before the revolution a dispute began between the main house and the branch house. Many of the branch family felt that the heiress; Hinata; was unfit to rule the country. She was a small timid girl who shied away from the position as heiress. Sadly this was not the main reason for the dispute, the small girl was blind. The branch family believed the younger sister, Hanabi, would be a better choice for leader. The King wanted to support his small child, he insisted that she would take her rightful place, he would train her to be the best diplomat, she didn't need to see to pass judgement. In his eyes it would eliminate prejudice of appearance when she was called upon to make a decision.

Still the Branch family rebelled and within the year the King had to give into their demands. He was due to publicly announce his decision during the month of July but on the date of the 22nd of June the youngest Hyuga had gone missing. When the word reached the public all hell broke loose. Most of the population were royalist supporters but rumours of betrayal and deception spread like wild fire across the land. A revolutionist under the alias of Yuriko Kojima had taken the country by storm, whipping up a frenzy among the citizens, Yuriko claimed that the main house had disposed of their own child Hanabi in order to keep Hinata on the thrown. The siege of the palace began, many mourning for the disappearance of the young, popular princess. _Makyō no Ran,_ war of evil men or so the tabloids had called it.

Yuriko soon usurped the throne and became the self declared _Danna _or Master. The revolution had been quick as the Hyugas had swiftly lost popularity and power, their undoing left Yuriko-Danna free to do anything with the now economically unstable country. Within two years of Yuriko's reign people began to go missing and Sakura's business went down the drain.

Sakura hated this new world, though she was still young she had been a detective for eight years. It had been her life and her passion she would do anything to keep herself in the detective business. She had pulled herself into this business with her own two hands and she would stay her, even if it meant digging her nails into any case, no matter how bad, that came her way. She would drag her feet all the way out. Haruno Sakura was here to stay. She took her eyes off the clock she had been absent mindedly keeping her eyes on while day dreaming. She glanced downwards and out the window, the sky was grey.

"Same old same old" she muttered. The sky was always dark these days; she hadn't seen summer since she was a child. It sleeted nearly everyday. She could never work out why the weather seemed hell bent on making her grumpy, never sun and never real snow. She glowered at the slush on the windowsill and went to slam the window closed, cutting out the sound of roaring traffic crawling sluggishly below. She felt extremely peeved today. Her cereal had been soggy, her coffee spilt all over her new _white_ shirt and her car refused to start. She hated days like this.

"Well it cant get any worse" she snarled as she got back to filling in forms. Beep… Beep… _"Miss Haruno, a Mrs Nara is here to see you. Miss Haruno?? Shall I send her in?_" Sakura wondered what Ino could be doing here at this time, she never made work called. Ino hated the dreary office and the smell of printing inks from the photocopying room next door. Once Ino had been a highly respected journalist partnered with the famous photographer Nara Shikamaru, they had tackled any story together and soon fell in love. They had a fairytale life, only having eyes for eachother and their beautiful daughter Sachiko. "_Miss Haruno? Hello are you there? Shall I send her in?"_ the voice broke her thoughts she pressed the intercom button.

"Yes thank you Kimi send her in" she took her finger off the button and waited for Ino's loud commanding voice to fill her small quiet office.

Step… Three

Step… Two

Step… One

Prepare to cover ears… commence noise… Sakura waited a few seconds, astounded not to have been blasted backwards by a wall of sound. She looked up to see a tearful Ino and pushed her chair back, running to her friend's side. She embraced Ino stroking her head. Sachiko poked her head out from behind her mother. Sakura scooped up the frightened little girl.

"Ino? Ino? What's wrong? What's happened?" she asked, concerned as to why her friend was in such a state.

"Shika's gone!" wailed Ino. Sakura looked at her in shock, she feared the worse. Another disappearance and now it affected her directly. She glanced at the whimpering Sachiko in her arms.

"Ino, calm down. When did you last see or har from him?" her brain was already formulating how to handle the investigation.

"Last night he called, he, he said he would be home in half an hour" She sobbed into Sakura's shoulders. Sakura began to file the information _last seen Wednesday 18__th__ of May, reported Thursday 19__th__ of May at 16.46. _

"Ino what time did he call?"

"Around fiveish, who's doing this Sakura? You got to help me! I need him!" Ino was so distraught it made Sakura's blood boil. She would find Shikamaru and if this was some kind of sick joke she would pound his face in. She had to put an end to these abductions as soon as possible; she had to solve what was going on.

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**Yeah... I so did a first chapter because my prologue was crap sorry bout that so please ReadnReview and critism would help and dont worry I got this story vaguely planned out next chapter... Introduce Sasuke D**

**_"What do you mean Nara is missing?!" _**

**RnR please... it would make my exam filled month D Well toodles see you around oh yeah quick compo (and I will think of a prize)**

**1) Whos attack is **

_Makyō no Ran?_

**2) How is the new dictator revolutionist's name formed (clue Seiyu) and what character does it relate to?**


	3. Chapter 2 US

_Brilliant flickers of crimson red tore across the ebony sky. A foul wind screeched across the wavering sky, tearing branches from trees and the whimpering girl from his arms. He looked down, he couldn't see her face. Only the crown of her head, he had seen this head before but he couldn't comprehend why she was in his strong arms. He couldn't comprehend the feeling in his chest, the feeling that wouldn't let her go._

_She clung to him; small arms wrapped around the trunk of his body, her hold tightened as thin legs were swept from under her. He was rooted to the spot, he couldn't take the step he needed to take and pull her legs down with one of his. She was being pulled away with more force now. Her tiny hands loosening their grip on his sides._

"_Don't let go" he instructed. _

_His own arms began to slip from around her; she was being torn from his very arms. His body lent forward, where he could not walk to her. Her waif like body stuck for a moment in his embrace, then she was whipped away from him. His arm shot out and grabbed a delicate hand. Her touch was cold; the warmth deep under her skin was slowly fading. Above them the sky began to change- mallard greens and palatinate (1) purple swirled into frightening and disturbing patterns. His head shot up and he cried out as he saw images of his life in ruins._

_Doggedly he turned his head back to the girl- away from the images, away from his future. He started as he realised she was hanging on by only two fingers. She looked up, her eyes flashed __chartreuse (2) and the last, little grip on her digits slipped away and she was gone. The last thing he saw was the fear in those deep, beautiful eyes._

"_Sasuke-kun"__ she whispered, the words echoed in the air, becoming louder and louder; he thought his ears would burst. And still, he could see her eyes in his mind._

The atramentous (3) haired man sat bolt upright. Sweat dampened his sheets and he shivered in the cool morning air. He sank back into the bed, sighing. It was just a dream. It was always a dream. Steadily over the past years his nightmares had been getting worse. He stared at the white cracked ceiling; deciding it was time he got his apartment sorted out. After all, it wasn't like he couldn't afford better. He let his gaze lazily slide over the room. He cursed as he saw the time.

"Fuck!"

He jumped out of his bed. Well, he tried. He tripped and landed hard on his face, his foot was caught in the duvet. He tugged his foot free and ran to the shower. He ripped off his boxers turning the water on, already reaching for the shampoo. Slowly the water worked its way through the pipes eventually hitting him, colder than ice. He swore again.

"Shit!"

He galloped from the shower pulling on his clothes, he hopped down the stairs pulling his charcoal trousers up and belting them. He grabbed his keys on the way out and finally shrugged his crisp, work jacket on. He began to run, run past the same people he dashed past everyday. They smiled tiredly at him, same old, same old. Everyone knew the dark blur of speed.

He was Uchiha Sasuke. Number one detective on the east side: rival to the equally famous Haruno Sakura. But, of course, they would always go to the Uchiha with their problems- this was the east side! At twenty-seven he was the number one bachelor in the city. Famed for his wealth, intelligence and smouldering looks. Unfortunately for the love sick hundreds, he had no interest what so ever in women. His life was work. His love was work. It was kind of sad really.

His feet pounded on the grey concrete, he concentrated on his stride length, occasionally glancing up from his feet to check his direction. He glared at the people around him, not out of hatred but the fact they never seemed to be in a rush like he was. He ran past a red headed couple giggling giddily, a familiar looking blonde haired woman crying, holding a small child's hand and finally a street artist on the corner near his destination. He slowed down as one image caught his eye. The canvas was a mass of mallard green and palatinate swirls, they were starting to form patterns-disturbing patterns.

It was a huge coincidence but he brushed it off as that. The raven haired artist smiled at him, dark eyes staring knowingly. Sasuke sneered at him, he knew the type. Always trying to trick you into thinking they knew more than you thought. Sasuke hated them all, manipulative bastards. He turned his back on the man and leaned a hand on the café door. It swung open with ease; he strode in calling to the man behind the counter.

"Oi, Naruto! Coffee. Easy on the milk" he ordered

"I'll get on it Sasuke-teme" snorted the tousled blonde behind the counter. His azure blue eyes twinkled below thick brows and he winked at the grinning waitress next to Sasuke. Sasuke hadn't known Naruto long; he had only recently moved to town- a few months ago by his reckoning- and started up the café. It had the best damn coffee in the city. Lots and lots of caffeine: ideal for Sasuke's long working hours. Naruto was obnoxious, loud and could never keep a secret. The complete opposite to Sasuke himself. A perfect friend for Sasuke (more a perfect source of easy information).

"Got any new cases?" queried the blonde.

"Nothing special, quite pathetic really"

"Your always looking for a challenge, why not solve a missing case?"

"You know that's not my scene"

"What if it's a friend?" the question was greeted by silence. Sasuke was half curious but the other half of him knew there was something off. He knew these disappearances would affect him directly at some point. It really was a pain.

"Who was it?"

"Nara Shikamaru"

"What do you mean Nara is missing?!" Sasuke raised his voice in anger and astonishment. He was rather fond of Nara, the silent, smart type. Much like himself, they had often sat next to each other in the bustling café quietly reading their books or sorting through work. As good, a companion Nara was, Sasuke couldn't see why he would be taken. Nara had a reputation of being extremely lazy. Lazy to the point it drove his loved ones insane. Probably why he married Yamanaka Ino- Sasuke had always thought her a bit cracked. Also up until now, most of the cases had been low profile. Nara was a photographer and had high profile jobs with most of the news papers around. It was strange that one, who was almost famous, would go missing. This was bad news for those who thought they were safe.

"Calm down genius, I'm just the messenger, go with the saying and all"

"Oh Naruto, how I would love to shoot you" scoffed Sasuke with scorn. He grabbed his piping hot coffee from the counter and threw the change, carelessly over his shoulder. Sasuke sprinted for the door and ran down the street to the green door of his office. He slotted the key in and turned the polished gold door knob. He bounded up the narrow stairs to the sanctum of his office. Furiously he swiped everything from his desk to the floor; it crashed down with a deafening thud. He pulled the typewriter forward and began to type viciously.

**Case 295**

**Class Field: Abduction**

**Person/s: Nara Shikamaru**

**Case taken: Yes**

…

** Hi I hope this chapter is ok for you guys yeah I''m in the middle of my GCSEs wish me luck lol.. I shouldnt be writing this as I have history tomorrow joy of joys right any way... 1) A shade of purple 2)A shade of green 3)Another word for dark... you see Im trying to stray away from the typical onyx and raven thing )**


	4. Chapter 3 HS

_A pair of eyes darted back and forth; the pupils were unable to focus. White light glared on the pale, china like skin. The pupils dilated and contracted, though the irises always remained the same- frightened and desperate. The eyes were very defiantly, her own- sea foam green and luminous like the moon on dark waters. The eyes moved faster and faster, panic was beginning to take hold. Tears of fear spilled from her shining orbs- they caught in her eyelashes momentarily but cascaded downwards when she blinked. In the background she could hear screams, tortured screams. _

"_Don't look up!" bellowed a deep voice. _

_As it possessed the eyes looked up the pupils became large and then contracted fast. Everything went white. The last thing she was conscious of was a soft thud._

Sakura slowly blinked. She let her eyes adjust to the light in the room groggily. Another bloody dream, she really hated waking up like that. Sakura tried to roll over and bury her head further into her soft pillow but instead found herself toppling over- taking a chair with her. She lay groaning on the floor, trying to adjust to her surroundings. This as sure as hell didn't look like her room. _Fuck! Bums, shit face! _She inwardly cursed- she was in her damn office.

This was the eighth time this month, it was getting worrying. Sakura sat up and put her head in her hands as a rush of memories clouded her thoughts. Suddenly she was filled with a wild fury at the thought of the recent news from Ino. She stood up and screamed in frustration. With a deft kick she shunted the chair into desk and was satisfied to hear the crack of breaking wood.

With a swish of her hair she stormed from the office, pulling her coat from the stand- and toppling the stand over in the process. Sakura was in no mood to pick things up. She stalked from the office leaving a very frightened Kimi behind.

She stamped down the street; pleased with the angry thump of her shoes on the hard ground. She shot vicious glares at the other people on the street. A black streak of a man ran past her- making her jump into the road to avoid being pushed over.

"Bastard!!" she screamed, her eyes scrunched shut with fury. Sakura slowly stepped onto the pavement and opened her eyes, to see a black haired man staring at her from the floor. She was about to snap at him but she noticed something oh-so familiar in his dark eyes.

"Sai?" she asked quietly. The artist nodded politely from his seat on the pavement. Sakura bounced excitedly; she hadn't seen Sai in years. Her bad mood was momentarily dispelled by the pleasure of seeing him. They had worked together in a forensics team. He had been the forensic artist but had disappeared from the scene three years ago. She could tell from the canvases that littered the ground around him; that he was as talented as ever.

She rushed forward and embraced him warmly. He raised a hand to her shoulder, patting it gently and smiled slightly.

"Stay there, Hag" he commanded. She watched him as he pulled out a fresh canvas and a light sketching pencil. Without even looking at her he began to sketch rapidly, long light pencil strokes became the scaffolding for his art. From his pocket he tugged out a paint brush. He paused momentarily then began to mix some water-colour-paints together and gave his picture a light wash of green. He stared at it then turned it to her for her to inspect.

It was a tear filled eye, looking up- the pupil a pinprick. The iris was a pale green; it was just like her dream. Sakura laughed nervously.

"That's creepy Sai" she laughed again, trying to cover up how disturbed she really was. Sometimes, Sai would draw such odd things. Sakura straightened up and looked around her. She spotted a café nearby and gestured towards it.

"Would you like a coffee? Catch up, maybe?" she asked. He smiled strangely.

"Yes, that would be pleasant" She pulled him up by the elbow and they walked into the café. It was exotically decorated, with orange seats, blue tables and black floors. Behind the main counter was a grinning blonde man.

"How can I help you?" he asked politely. Sakura looked at him closely. He was very tanned- unusual for this country- and his accent was off slightly. From the short question, she had learned that he nearly dropped his h's and drew out the o's longer than the other vowels in his sentence. Therefore, Sakura deduced he was foreign.

"Two coffees please" she requested. Sakura racked her brains for questions to ask but in the end, Sai was the one who started the conversation.

"So what have you been up to?"

"Not much, since these disappearances started" she answered. Sai nodded sympathetically.

"Put me out of a job" he sighed. She looked at him quizzically.

"I would have thought you would have had a lot of work with these disappearances? I mean a lot of missing person art to do and junk?" Sai shook his head sadly.

"They all have photographs, what I need is a description of those doing the abducting."

"Well that makes sense but surely someone has seen something"

"You would think so. But nobody has. Either that or someone has and isn't saying." His piercing eyes stared into hers, his voice took on a serious quality

"Sakura this is serious, if you're involved get out and get out now" Sai instructed her with utter vehement. _It's a bit late now; I am well and truly stuck in. _Sakura thought.

"Unfortunately, my friend's husband has gone missing. Now I have to help." Sai put his hand on top of hers, he was trying to comfort her- Sai had always been awkward with emotions.

"It's just terrible. I wonder who's behind it" he whispered. The blonde behind the counter seemed to perk to attention.

"My good friend Mr Nara, went missing other day" he piped up. Sakura's head snapped around. Her eyes narrowed.

"What do you know about it?" she snapped.

"Not much" he said, sounding hurt. Sakura decided to soften her tone a little.

"How do you know him?"

"He comes here often, with err bossy blonde woman" he answered. Sakura almost smiled- that was Ino alright.

"When did they last come here, tell me about the woman?"

"He was here two days ago. She is with child, last time I saw her. He come for smoke and a talk about business, he always takes a smoke" said the man again. _This man defiantly is foreign he has phrased his past three sentences oddly-_ Sakura's mind concluded. Well that was a good description of Ino and he mentioned Sachiko as well. After all, it was unlike Ino to leave without her beloved child.

Beside her Sai reached out for a napkin. He began to scribble on it with a pen. She glanced at the doodle and raised an eyebrow. _Sai really is disturbing_. He had drawn a screaming baby, chubby hand snatching at thin air. A fox had curled around the baby and its eyes stared directly at her.

Sai looked up at her and caught her looking; he snatched the napkin from the table and tucked it into his pocket. All the while he smiled, eyes crinkling slightly at the corner. Sakura stared at him for a minute but directed her gaze behind him- to the approaching waitress.

The woman had her chestnut brown hair coiled into buns on the side of her head and she walked with a bounce to her step. Under her right sleeve was stowed a pack of cigarettes- most likely to be shared with costumers. The new woman turned to smile at the man behind the counter but stumbled and tripped. Ever swift, Sakura lunged forward and caught her by the arm.

"Thank you" gasped the waitress, hand to chest and breathing hard. Sakura smiled and patted her on the shoulder- knocking the box from under her sleeve onto the floor.

"No problem" Sakura smiled slyly. The waitress thanked her again and continued on her rounds around the café. Sakura picked up the box and tapped it with her finger while smirking. Deftly she whipped a cigarette out and inspected it.

Shikamaru liked a good smoke. And the man behind the counter had said himself "he always takes a smoke" Sakura presumed this meant he always took one of the waitresses. She walked over to the corner table- Shikamaru liked the dark corners, away from the hustle and bustle of busy costumers- he was a watcher, an observer of life. Sure enough she found the same cigarettes in ash tray- their ends chewed; another habit of Shikamaru's. She triumphantly tapped her fingers on the table. She was pleased that the blonde was a reliable source of information.

However, her good mood was dispelled when she saw a cigarette with a lipstick mark on it. Ino did not indulge in the same habit as her husband. Especially when Sachiko was around. Sakura picked up the cigarette and pocketed it. Slowly she walked back over to the counter and caught the blonde man's attention.

"Are you sure the blonde woman sits with him?"

"As sure as your eyes are green" grinned the man.

"That's debatable. Does she smoke?" the man nodded.

"Smokes a lot with him, they like Tenten's cigarettes" he answered, trying to be useful. Sakura scowled and dug out her purse and slapped the correct amount of money on the counter.

"Thank you for your help" she said not so gratefully and then turned to Sai "Ja ne Sai-kun"

She left in a hurry, anxious to get back home and lay out what she had found. Both men watched leave.

"Watch her Naruto, she's sharper than she looks" warned Sai.

"Second one today, at least she's nicer" said the blonde dropping the accent.

"You mean, more so than him"

"Of course. When would you get him near the masses" scoffed Naruto. Sai slipped the napkin from his pocket and across to Naruto.

"Watch what you say"

"And you friend"

Sai pushed his stool back and left without another word and took his place among the paintings. All he had to do now was wait- it would play out soon enough.

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**Yay I updated! If you have any questions about this story I made you a webbysite!! **http://pic5. **go here to get all your answers please check it out**


	5. Chapter 4 US

**Wooo I updated! Thank you to: **

**Coscat: Thankyou for the lovely reviews and you may have guessed a little right lol... Am I really that see through**

Crystalized Rain, **shadowinthesky: thanks for the comment about my writing- sometimes I think Im really boring but if you like it..., AnimeQueen100: Your like a mind reader... Ive had to change my stuff to make it more suprising now you said that lol!, corky22, you.broke.a.promise! **

**Thankyou to everyone that alerted as well it makes me really happy. I have a few things to announce Porcelain is back up! Yes it's alive!!! My oneshot She and her Cat is worth checking out as well by the way (I will keep reminding you because it is my fave fic ever) and If you want explanations please go to my profile and click the link there for the site- it has loads of little previews and expanations and stuff **

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Sasuke had, had two options. He could either go and _talk_ to Nara Ino or he could hack into Konoha News Today's highly protected database to find out where Shikamaru had been working last. Five minutes of _talk _or 3 hours of hacking.

Sasuke had chosen the long route. _Anything to avoid talking to Ino_ he thought smugly. Anyway, it wouldn't take that long to hack in since he already had the passwords. Sasuke was lucky; good looks were such an advantage in this business. Flirting with secretaries was his specialty. Within minutes they would be dieing to tell him whatever he wanted to know. Sasuke had paid many visits to KNT, as they seemed to be mixed up with any high profile scandal.

He smirked when he found what he was looking for. Sasuke's dark eyes scanned the information. Nara and his partner had promised the story of a life time. They promised drama- a lot of drama- and some news that would change the fire country and could spark off a brilliant new era for KNT. The database didn't know what the story was about but they had received a log of areas where Nara Shikamaru and his partner had visited.

_**14**__**th**__** January: European Garden**_

_**26**__**th**__** January: Imperial Courthouse**_

_**3**__**rd**__** February: Dusk Chapel**_

_**27**__**th**__** February: Hyuga Palace**_

_**18**__**th**__** March: Western District Library**_

_**19**__**th**__** March: Eastern District Library**_

_**5**__**th**__** April: Long-turn Toll Bridge **_

_**30**__**th**__** April: Southern Konoha Bank**_

_**15**__**th**__** May: Royal Research House for the relief of disease and illness. **_

"Nara's been busy I see" muttered Sasuke. _But what's the connection?_ Sasuke racked his brains. Most were hot tourist spots. Three were not: European Garden, Dusk Chapel and Royal Research House. The European Garden had long been overgrown since the fall of the Hyugas and the Dusk Chapel- that was the Hyuga's private chapel. As for the Royal Research House… that had never been open to the public- The Hyugas had built it to help but only a select few had been employed.

_What connects them all? I can tell it's just too obvious._ He stared at the list again- undoubtedly the Toll Bridge and Courthouse were the oldest- none were built in the same time era. _So why were they built? _Sasuke questioned himself _Well, the Bridge was built for an early version of road tax- since the Hyugas didn't want to push- Of Course! They're all Hyuga owned. _The realisation hit him and he slapped his forehead cursing his own stupidity.

_Why the hell would Nara want to go there?! _Sasuke had always seen Nara as the lazy type, one who took the safe route purely because it was easier. Snooping around abandoned Hyuga properties was not safe. Especially, with the number of disappearances increasing by the day. _He must be being pushed by a 'troublesome' woman- as he so correctly put it. _Sasuke knew well enough that Shikamaru could ignore men for hours and hours upon end; but there was something about the pitch of a woman's voice that got into Nara's head. He couldn't ignore their insistent whining- it wormed its way into his peaceful world and he couldn't sit there and listen to them. He usually just did what they said- no fuss made.

Sasuke scrolled down to see if his partner was listed. _Bingo_ he scribbled down her name and address and headed for the door- not before pulling a coat from the cupboard. _I'll be paying her a visit later_ he just sure as hell hoped she wasn't as noisy as Ino.

Sasuke decided to head for the first location on the list: European Garden. It must be utterly over grown by now; that wasn't a bad thing. It probably meant that the briars and brambles had snagged on people's clothing, people's belongings. It made his job so much easier.

The garden was just south of the palace. It would be an hour's walk or five minutes drive from where he was now. This time he chose the quick option. Sasuke didn't have a flash car, he liked understated class. He had an antique Jaguar, one that purred and had the power of a big cat. He was fond of the Jag it was reliable and a smooth ride and he never got pestered with "Dude! Nice ride" or "Sasuke-kun!! Flash cars make me want to do the same" unfortunately he had received both comments with previous cars.

He slid into the car; the interior was clean and smelled of leather. He turned the keys and the engine started with a growl. He set off with a roar and settled into a steady speed, dodging the dreaded 'granny' traffic. By the look of it he would be doing so much more driving.

It took him six minutes to his distaste. He finally pulled up behind the garden (he didn't want his precious car to be stolen). It hissed into immobility and he pulled up the hand break. After locking the car he strode purposely round the edge of the garden.

He was looking for an opening. Anyway in, eventually he found a dog sized hole. Sighing he crouched down and shimmied through the gap- all the while looking for snagged clothing.

He crawled through the hedge and emerged in a surprisingly neat looking garden. The plants were overgrown but the roses had dominated the area. A mass of brightly coloured flowers monopolised the space and pushed away the other fauna. In the middle of the garden was a pond- the water was green and scummy and the was no sign of fish life.

In the centre of the pond was a majestic statue. A woman stood the left arm raised to the sky, the other arm was held just beneath the left's elbow. Her face was turned upwards, in the same direction as the arms. She was wearing a tunic like dress that had slipped over her right shoulder, exposing the curve of her back and the swell of her breast. Sasuke imagined that she would have been beautiful but somebody had disfigured the face. Long slashes distorted her features- Sasuke wondered why someone would ruin something as glorious as this statue.

Around the pond grew hundreds of roses. The were unusual; probably a highbred. In the centre they were lemon yellow but at the tips the colour bled to pink. It was like the roses had once been red but had faded with time- the only remnants of the original colour were at the edges. Sasuke pulled out a plastic bag from his pocket and carefully picked a rose, admiring the intricate folds, he slid it into the bag.

He scanned the area for any more clues but could not see anything. _I can always come back anyway _he reasoned. He stepped towards the exit but tripped on a loose flag stone. Sasuke helplessly toppled and landed with a thud. He groaned and opened his eyes; in front of him was a scrap of beige material- pale like the flags beneath it. If he had not tripped he wouldn't have seen it.

Sasuke sat up and again removed a bag from his pocket and collected the sample. Now he was satisfied that he could leave. Getting out without damaging the rose was harder than he had thought; eventually he tugged out the bag and threw it a little distance in front of him. Each time he caught up to it he would throw it again. Soon enough the bag was free of the hedge and as was he.

Doggedly he made his way back to the Jag and unlocked the door. He threw the bags on the passenger seat and prepared to leave again. _I think its about time I paid a visit to Nara's partner_ He retrieved the scrap of paper and read out the address.

"23 Queen's Boulevard, the woman has class at least" he murmured, impressed by the address. Queen's Boulevard was one of the upper class areas in the city. He himself lived on Prince's a little lower profile than King's or Queen's. He started the engine and listened to its purring as he drove to the house.

He drew up outside, there was already a car in her drive. Somehow he didn't think that the woman would be driving a beaten up, red mini. _Someone else must be here_. Cautiously he approached the white washed house. The walls were plain and well painted, everything was meticulously finished with a high standard. Not a speck of white paint was on the windows and not a flower was out of place.

Sasuke, himself, was a perfectionist. But he did not like the house; it seemed cold, so un-personalised. He preferred a touch of character. _Each to their own, I suppose._ He knocked on the perfect, dark green door and waited for it to be opened. He heard voices from inside then footsteps. The door was opened- Sasuke noticed the hinges didn't even squeak. A heavily pregnant, tall, blonde woman stood before him.

"Yes?"

"Subaka no Temari?" he inquired. She looked at him weirdly and nodded. Then she sighed dramatically.

"Not another one, come in, come on hurry up, your letting the cold in" she ushered him in and he obliged. Inside was _surprisingly _dull and plain just like the outside of the house. The woman pushed him into what he supposed was the living room. Immediately he scanned the room, searching for the other voice.

"What the hell are _**you **_doing here?!" came the voice from behind him. He whipped around and saw the oh-so-familiar, furious pink head of Haruno Sakura. He smirked cockily- this had just gotten so much more interesting.

"Doing my job" she glowered at him then said sarcastically "How very dedicated of you Uchiha-san"

Sasuke bowed slightly, knowing this would infuriate her. Sakura crossed her arms and tapped her foot- waiting for his response. Her brain was already ticking, thinking of possible comebacks to his insults.

"I take it you're on the Nara case?" he asked sweetly.

"Damn straight, since I'm the better detective I don't think we need your help"

"You wound me with you words koishii"

"Get over yourself. And get off my case" She snarled viciously at him. He could only smirk at her. He really loved to infuriate the woman, he loved to steal her cases and make them his own.

"How about we share the case koishii?"

The room went silent.

* * *

**Yay, Please check out She and Her Cat (I told you I would keeep reminding you) and again Porcelain is up and running and explanations leave a review and check out my site. Please do review and I shall give you jellybeans**


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